Carpet binder bar

ABSTRACT

A concealed carpet binder bar used in conjunction with a tackless carpet strip for securing and concealing the raw edge of a carpet. The bar has a horizontal base portion, a substantially vertical portion upwardly extending from the inner edge of the base portion, the vertical portion being embossed with a plurality of vertical gussets along the length of the bar, each gusset extending from the inner edge of the base portion, and a flange portion laterally extending from the upper edge of the vertical portion. The carpet is anchored on the tackless strip, the edge is folded around the outer edge of the flange portion, and the flange portion is bent downwardly to secure and conceal the carpet edge. In another embodiment of the bar, the outer edge of the base portion is scalloped to provide alternating areas of maximum width and minimum width. In still another embodiment of the bar, the flange portion is convexly curved across its width.

United States Patent Hill [ 1 June 20, 1972 [54] CARPET BINDER BARHarvey J. Hill, Monterey Park, Calif.

Roberts Consolidated Industries, Inc., Industry, Calif.

[22] Filed: June 15, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 46,019

[72] Inventor:

[73] Assignee:

Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay

Assistant Examiner-Doris L. Troutman Attorney-Harris, Kiech, Russell &Kem

[ ABSIRACT A concealed carpet binder bar used in conjunction with atackless carpet strip for securing and concealing the raw edge of acarpet. The bar has a horizontal base portion, a substantially verticalportion upwardly extending from the inner edge of the base portion, thevertical portion being embossed with a plurality of vertical gussetsalong the length of the bar, each gusset extending from the inner edgeof the base portion, and a flange portion laterally extending from theupper edge of the vertical portion. The carpet is anchored on thetackless strip, the edge is folded around the outer edge of the flangeportion, and the flange portion is bent downwardly to secure and concealthe carpet edge. In another embodiment of the bar, the outer edge of thebase portion is scalloped to provide alternating areas of maximum widthand minimum width. ln still another embodiment of the bar, the flangeportion is convexly curved across its width.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures P'A'TE'N'TEDJmo !972 v 3. 670. 360

BINDER v e t W E 4 2 16. 2 3 AK \l 4(1 3 q L| l] p T 3 2 \l INVENTOI? gHARVEY J. HILL 40 50' m By Ms ATTORNEYS 0 20 30" HAMMER/NGANGLE FROMVERTICAL HARE/5 M56 RUSSLL& K N

CARPET BINDER BAR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention isdirected to a concealed carpet binder bar for securing and concealingthe edge of a carpet. More particularly, the present invention isdirected to a carpet binder bar which is employed at the edge of acarpeted area such as in a doorway, around a fireplace, or at a point ina room or lobby where the carpeted area ends and a noncarpeted areabegins, such as an area covered with linoleum, brick, stone, or thelike.

Many devices have been employed and are still employed for securing andconcealing the edges of carpets. The most common method was to turn andtack the carpet, i.e., to reverse fold or double edge the' edge of thecarpet and tack through the double thickness. Thismethod was alwaysconsidered unsatisfactory for two reasons: (1) the result was unsightly,and (2) the carpet was difficult to remove. In Roberts, U.S. Pat. No.2,238,946 a means is described for securing and concealing the edge of acarpet by securing a tackless carpet strip to the floor adjacent thewall boards, securing the edge of the carpet to the tackless strip andconcealing the upper edge of the carpet with a quarter round or othertype of molding which was either nailed to the wall board or to thetackless strip. An alternative method is to tuck or compress the rawedge of the carpet into a small space intentionally left between thetackless strip and the wall board when the tackless strip is secured tothe floor. This method has enjoyed a considerable commercial success;however, it has never beenused in a doorway area or around a flushfireplace hearth, etc. because it cannot conceal the rough edge of thecarpet without employing molding which would be a dangerous andunattractive protuberance on the floor area. W. L. Bonnell, U.S. Pat.No. 2,258,314 discloses an edge molding device forsecuring and concelinga carpet edge. This device is particularly applicable for securing acarpet edge in a doorway and the like. However, the device has oneadvantage, it is not concealed anddistracts from the appearancedisadvantage, thecarpet edge. Another method of securing and concealingthe edge of carpets is disclosed in Watson U.S. Pat. No. 2,051,191. Thispatent discloses a fastener consisting of a metal strip to surround thecarpet area. The carpet edge is doubled over the outer edge of thestrip, thus concealing the edge of the carpet. The outer edge of thestrip contains sharp teeth against which the edge of the carpet in itsreverse fold is firmly caught, thus securing the rug. This particularfastener never enjoyed commercial success for'at least three reasons:(I) it .was found that it was difficult to stretch and double under thecarpet at the same time employing the fastener, (2) the finished edgedid not have a particularly attractive appearance, and (3) the fasteneronly secured the edge of the rug to a marginal extent. Adams, U.S. Pat.No. 2,677,145 discloses a carpet-securing device which has enjoyedconsiderable commercial success. The disclosed device consists of ametal strip having a Z-profile with its midstroke or midsection verticalrather than diagonal. A tackless carpet strip is mounted on the base ofthe Z and flush against the vertical midsection. The carpet is anchoredon the tackless strip and the carpet edge is then folded or doubled overthe upper horizontal portion of the Z to conceal the edge. The topflange portion is then bent downward to secure the edge of the carpet.Although this securing device has been very successful, it has certaininherent disadvantages. The upper flange portion of the metal strip isbent down by hammering, through the carpet, the outer edge of the upperportion. It has been found that the effective hammering angle iscritical, it lies in a narrow range of about and is awkwardly located.The proper hammering angle falls between a first imaginary line drawnthrough the outer edge of the upper flange portion and the bottom edgeof the vertical midsection and a second imaginary line drawn between theouter edge of the upper flange and the top of the vertical midsection.If the metal strip is hammered at an angle below this second imaginaryline, the upper flange is bent upward and backward. Ifthe metal strip ishammered at an angle above thefirst imaginary line, the upper flangetogether with the vertical midsection itself are bent downward, the bendoccurring primarily at the base of the vertical midsection resulting inan excessively wide and more flimsy" clamping flange. In-addition, thecarpet above this flange has no underlying support and is rapidly worndue to excessive movement against the rigid edge of the adjacenttackless strip. To minimize the downward bending of the verticalmidsection of the metal strip during hammering, the strip is generallymade of fairly heavy or thick metal such as 30 mils aluminum. Thiscreates additional problems because the tackless strip unlike FIG. 2 inthe Adams patent is not fully supported across its width by the baseportion of the metal strip. During the carpet stretching operation andafter traffic has crossed this portion of the carpet edge, theunsupported edge of the tackless strip is forced downward to thesupporting surface, i.e., the floor, raising the inner edge of thetackless strip, i.e., the edge adjacent the vertical midsection, upward.Excessive tilting of the tackless strip tends to loosen the nails, orother fastening means securing the metal strip and tackless strip to thefloor and weakens the overall security. It also raises the carpetadjacent the inner edge, causing the carpet to be unevenly worn anddestroying the neat appearance of the finished edge. Anothercarpet-anchoring device is disclosed in Goodemoot U.S. Pat. No.2,587,836. This anchoring device consists of a channel member having twoupturned sides of difierent width. The side with the greater width hasan inwardly bent end which partly obstructs the open end of the channel.The side with the greater width is secured to the floor with itsinwardly bent edge adjacent a wall. The other side of the channel memberhas upwardly projecting prongs upon which a carpetis anchored. The edgeof the carpet is folded around the outer end of the other side and intothe open end. This device is limited to anchoring and concealing theedge of a carpet adjacent a wall area, and cannot be used in doorways,around fireplace hearths, etc.

Another disadvantage of the above-described means for securing the edgeof a carpet arises from the fact the means cannot readily be used inpreparing a curved carpet edge. In each case the tackless strip, ifused, and the metal strips or channels, must be cut in short lengths toprovide a curved edge. Unless time is taken to exercise care, which iscostly, the resulting edge is not smoothly curved and has a ragged andsloppy appearance.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to adevice for securing the edge of a carpet on a supporting surface,comprising a metal strip having a horizontal base portion adapted to bemounted on its bottom side on the supporting surface and adapted tosupport on its top side on the supporting surface and adapted to supporton its top side a tackless carpet strip, a substantially verticalportion extending upwardly from the inner edge of said base portion,said vertical portion being embossed with a plurality of vertical ridgeslengthwise along said metal strip, said vertical ridges extending fromthe inner edge of said base portion, and a substantially horizontalflange portion extending outwardly from the upper edge of the verticalportion, the flange portion being adapted to receive the edge of acarpet which is reversibly folded over, around, and under the flangeportion, the flange portion being bendable downward toward thesupporting surface to conceal and secure the edge of the carpet. In apreferred embodiment of the present invention the horizontal baseportion has a nonlinear outer edge providing the base portion with aplurality of areas of maximum width lengthwise along the strip; andmeans on the flange portion, opposite the areas of maximum width,for-indicating the areas of maximum width.

An object of the present invention is to provide a concealedcarpet-securing bar for concealing and securing the raw edge of acarpet. More particularly, it is an object to provide a concealedcarpet-securing bar which will provide a relatively smooth supportingsurface for the edge portion of a carpet.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet-securingbar that will provide uniform gripping strength of a carpet edge over awide range of hammering angles employed in bending downward thecarpet-securing flangeof the bar. More particularly, it is an object toprovide a carpetsecuring bar which has a selectively bendablecarpet-securing flange portion and nonbendable base and verticalportions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet-securingbar that can be readily curved with minimal warping, deforming orstressing.

Another and further object of the present invention is to provide ameans of preparing two carpet-securing bars from a single metal strip bycold-drawing and deforming with minimal stressing, warping and deformingof the final product. More particularly it is an object to provide ameans of preparing carpet-securing bars using at least 15 percent lesssquare footage of raw metal strips without reducing the maximum width ofthe finished carpet-securing bar.

' An even further object of the present invention is to provide acarpet-securing bar that can be prepared from thinner metal sheets thanthe carpet-securing strip presently used without significant reductionin functional characteristics or strength.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a fragmentary perspectiveview of a carpet binder bar of the present invention supporting atackless carpet strip;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a carpet binder bar supporting acarpet tackless strip taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1: 1

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a carpet binder bar of thepresent invention supporting a tackless carpet strip taken along line3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a strip of metal that has beenformed into carpet binder bar blank;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the carpet binder bar blankof FIG. 4 that has been wave-sheared to form two carpet binder bars ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a carpet binder bar of the present inventionthat has been curved; and

FIG. 7 is a graph demonstrating the holding strength of the carpetbinder bar of the present invention and the carpetsecuring device of J.C. Adams, US. Pat. No. 2,677,145 in pounds per linear inch with respectto the hammering angle, from the vertical, used in bending down eachsecuring flange of the devices.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Referring to thedrawings, a carpet binder bar 10 of the present invention is illustratedin FIG. 1. The bar 10 is a metal strip having a horizontal base portion1 l, a substantially vertical upwardly extending portion 12 and asubstantially horizontal laterally extending flange portion 13. Thewidth of the flange portion 13 is greater than the height of thevertical portion 12. The base portion 11 is adapted to be supported on asupporting surface 15, and is adapted to support a tackless carpet strip16 on its top surface. The edge of front side 27 of the strip 16 isbeveled complementary with the gussets 24 so that the upper edge of theside 27 and the upper edge of portion 12 are closely aligned (see FIG.2). The tackless strip 16 and the bar 10 are secured to the supportingsurface 15 by a plurality of nails 17. The carpet strip 16 has aplurality of prongs 18 extending upward and angled toward the flangeportion 13. The base portion 1 1 has a scalloped edge 19 with aplurality of peaks 20 which provide the base portion with a plurality ofareas of maximum width and a plurality of valley portions 21 whichprovide the base portion with a plurality of areas of minimum width.Preferably the maximum width of the base portion 11 is greater than thewidth of the flange portion 13 and the minimum width is less than thewidth of the flange portion 13. The flange portion 13 is downwardly orconvexly curved across its width, that is, the upper surface of theflange is convexly curved and the lower surface is concavely curved. Theupper surface of the flange portion has a plurality of scored markings22 which are opposite the peaks 20. In an alternative embodiment of theinvention (not shown), the scored markings can be placed opposite theareas of minimum width, that is the valley portions 21. In such anembodiment, the peaks 20 are indirectly indicated; the peaks are locatedon the base portion 11 midway between any two consecutive scoredmarkings on the flange portion 13. The vertical portion 12 extendsupwardly from the inner edge 23 of the base portion 11. A plurality ofvertical gussets 24 are embossed on the inner surface of the verticalportion 12 along the length of the bar 10. Each gusset 24 extends fromthe inner edge 23 of the base portion 11.

Referring to FIG. 1, the carpet binder bar can be employed in thefollowing fashion. The bar 10, supporting a strip 16 with its beveledside 27 adjacent the gussets 24, is positioned in the planned peripheryof the carpet area with the flange portion 13 facing outwards, that isaway from the carpeted area. The strip 16 and bar 10 are nailed orotherwise secured to the supporting surface 15; the base portion 11 ofthe bar 10 is nailed in an area of maximum width, i.e. opposite a scoredmarking 22. The force exerted on the tackless strip 16 when the nails 17are driven home causes the bottom side of the strip, which is made of arelatively soft wood, to be indented by the peaks 20. Since the peaks 20only provide intermittent support for the outer edge portion of thestrip 16, and the nails 17 are driven through the areas of the peaks,the forces from hammering are concentrated in the areas of the peaks,thus causing deeper indentions 26 in the bottom side of the strip by theouter edge 19 of the bar 10 than are obtained from conventional carpetsecuring metal strips having a base portion with a straight or linearouter edge. The deeper the indentions 26 with respect to a giventhickness or gauge for the base portion 11, the flatter or smaller theoffset angle for the strip 16 will be. This is very desirable, sincesmaller angles of incidence provide a stronger and more attractivefinished carpet binder structure. Due to the relative thinness of themetal bar 10 and the indentions 26 on the bottom side of the strip 16,the strip 16 is set off at a very small angle from the surface 15 (about3) with its lower front edge 27 raised only slightly above the top sideof the base portion 11; this is best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The edge of the carpet (not shown) is stretched and impaled on prongs 18of the tackless strip. The edge of the carpet is then trimmed and turnedunder the flange portion 13. The flange portion 13 is bent downward byhammering, through the carpet, the outer edge 29 of the flange portion(see FIG. 3). The tip 29 can be hammered at an angle over a widehammering angle range 30 (more than a range). The gussets 24 strengthenthe portion 12 and prevent this portion from being bent backwardly ordownwardly during the bending or hammering step. The bending of theflange portion 13 is complete when the edge of the carpet is secured tothe supporting surface 15.

The carpet binder bar 10 of the present invention is prepared from aflat strip of metal, such as 0.025-inch aluminum strip. The metal stripis cold-drawn and deformed by progressive tooling with deforming meansknown to the art to yield a formed metal strip or carpet-securing barblank 31 having a profile illustrated in FIG. 4. The formed metal stripor blank 31 has a horizontal base portion 11a, righthand and lefthandupwardly extending vertical portions 12 and righthand and lefthandlaterally extending flange portions 13. The vertical portions 12 areembossed with a plurality of gussets 24.

Referring to FIG. 5, the fonned metal strip or blank 31 is wave-shearedlengthwise along the base portion 11a with metal shear means to producetwo carpet binder bars 10. During the shearing step, or prior orsubsequent thereto, the flange portions 13 can be indented with markingindentures 22 to mark the peaks 20 of the base sections 11. The totalmaterial needed for the two bars is less than twice the maximumdimensions of each bar due to the overlapping scallops.

By this method the width of the raw metal strip, i.e., the startingstrip, has been reduced by more than 15 percent without reduction of themaximumwidth of the finished carpet binder bar 10.

Referring to FIG. 6, the carpet binder bar of the present invention isreadily curved without deforming, warping, or stressing the bar 10. Onlywhen the bar 10 is sharply curved is a warping or deforming of the barnoticed, and then it is chiefly limited to the flange portion 13 anddoes not affect the appearance or securing strength of the finishedcarpet edge.

Referring to FIG. 7, the gripping strength of the carpet binder bar 10of the present invention is compared with the gripping strength of thecarpet-securing strip described in J. C. Adams, U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,145with respect to the hammering angle employed in bending thecarpet-securing flange of each device (the hammering angle is measuredfrom the upper vertical). The carpet binder bar 10 is made from0.025-inch aluminum strip and the carpet-securing strip of Adams patentis made from .030-inch aluminum strip. The graph clearly shows thatgripping strength of the carpet binder bar of the present invention isnot significantly afiected by the hammering angle over a 60 range. Insharp contrast, the gripping strength of the carpet-securing strip ofthe Adams patent'is significantly affected by the hammering angle andvaries greatly over a hammering angle range of 65.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed above, it is not intendedthat the above description be alimitation on the present invention. For example, the outer edge 19 ofthe base portion 11 can be shaped a variety of ways to provide aplurality of alternating areas of maximum and minimum width. Othersuitable shapes include sawtooth outer edges, squared-off rectangulartoothshaped edges, and the like. Other means besides markingindentations 22 can be employed to mark the areas of maximum width onthe flange portion 13, such as dye or paint marks, inscribed lines,decals, and the like. Alternatively the flange can be marked to indicatethe areas of minimum width or each of the areas of maximum width andminimum width on the base portion of the carpet binder bar. The presentinvention is not limited to any particular means for securing thecarpet-securing bar 10 to the supporting structure 15. The bar 10 can besecured to the supporting structure by adhesive material such asadhesive transfer tape, liquid adhesive and glue, or bolts, screws,staples or rivets. Likewise the tackless carpet strip 16 can be securedto the carpet-securing bar 10 by adhesive material, bolts, screws,staples or rivets.

I claim:

l. A device for securing and concealing the edge of a carpet on asupporting surface, comprising a metal strip having:

a horizontal base adapted to be mounted on its bottom side on asupporting surface and adapted to support on its top side a tacklesscarpet strip;

a substantially vertical section extending upwardly from the inner edgeof said base to a height substantially coplanar to the top surface ofthe tackless carpet strip, said vertical section being embossed on itsinner side facing said base with a plurality of vertical ridges alongthe length of said strip which extend upwardly for a portion of saidvertical sections height from the inner edge of said base to preventbending of the lower angle defined by the juncture of said base and saidvertical section; and

a substantially horizontal flange extending outwardly from the upperedge of said vertical section on the outer side of said verticalsection, said flange having a smooth upper surface and being adapted toreceive the edge of a carpet which is reversibly folded over, around andunder said flange, said flange being bendable downward along its width,from the upper angle defined by the juncture of 70 said vertical sectionand said flange and its outer edge, toward said supporting surface toconceal and secure the edge of said carpet to said supporting surface byhammering the outer edge of said flange at an angle between 0 and about60 from the vertical.

2. The device for securing and concealing the edge of a carpet asdefined in claim 1 wherein the outer edge of said baseis nonlinear andsaid base has a plurality of alternating maximum widths and minimumwidths lengthwise along said strip; and said flange includes means forindicating the location of each of said maximum widths on said base.

3. The device for securing and concealing the edge of a carpet asdefined in claim 1 wherein said base has a plurality of alternatingmaximum widths and minimum widths lengthwise along said strip, each ofsaid maximum widths being greater than the width of said flange and eachof said minimum widths being less than the width of said flange.

4. The device for securing and concealing the edge of a carpet asdefined in claim 1 wherein the upper surface of said flange is convexlycurved.

5. The device for securing the edge of a carpet as defined in claim 1wherein the outer edge of said base is scalloped and said base has aplurality of maximum widths and minimum widths; and said flange includesmeans for indicating the location of each of said maximum widths on saidbase.

6. A device for securing the edge of a carpet on a supporting surface,comprising:

a metal strip having a horizontal base portion adapted to be mounted onits bottom side on a supporting surface and adapted to support on itstop side a tackless carpet strip, the outer edge of said base portionbeing scalloped to provide the base portion with a plurality of areas ofmaximum width and minimum width;

a substantially vertical portion extending upwardly from the inner edgeof said base portion, said vertical portion being embossed with aplurality of vertical gussets lengthwise along said strip, each of saidgussets extending from the inner edge of said base portion;

a substantially horizontal flange portion extending outwardly from theupper edge of said vertical portion, said flange portion being adaptedto receive the edge of the carpet which is reversibly folded over,around, and under said flange portion, said flange portion beingbendable downward toward said supporting surface to conceal and retainthe edge of said carpet; and

means on said flange portion, opposite the areas of maximum width, forindicating said areas of maximum width.

7. An article of manufacture, a one-piece carpet fastening device forsecuring'a carpet edge to a supporting surface, including:

a base strip adapted to be secured to the supporting surface;

an upwardly extending flange along one edge of said strip, verticalgussets being provided in said flange spaced along the length thereof,the bases of said gussets being in said base strip; and

a clamping strip extending along the upper edge of said flange andextending away from said base strip, said clamping stn'p beingdeformable downwardly after a carpet edge has been extended over thefree edge of the clamping strip and tucked thereunder.

8. An article of manufacture, a one-piece carpet fastening device forsecuring a carpet edge to a supporting surface, in-

eluding:

a base strip adapted to be secured to the supporting surface, the freeedge of the strip being uniformly scalloped along its length;

an upwardly extending flange along the other edge of said strip,vertical gussets being provided in said flange spaced along the lengththereof, the bases of said gussets being in said base strip; and

a clamping strip extending along the upper edge of said flange andextending away from said base strip, said clamping strip beingdeformable downwardly afier a carpet edge has been extended over thefree edge of the clamping strip and tucked thereunder, the clampingstrip being provided with indicator marks spaced along its length toindicate the location of each of the scallops.

9. A carpet fastening device, comprising:

a metal strip having a horizontal portion adapted to rest upon asupporting surface to which a carpet is to be applied, an upwardlyextending portion and a readily bendable flange portion projectinglaterally from upwardly extending portion and across and under which theedge portion of a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to bereversibly folded, said flange being deformable downwardly toward saidsupporting surface to conceal and retain said edge portion in a foldedcondition against said surface;

a carpet retaining strip mounted on said horizontal portion and havingretaining means engageable with said carpet for retaining the same instretchable condition;

fastening means for fastening said strip against said surface, whereinthe improvement comprising the outer edge of said horizontal portion isscalloped providing said horizontal portion with a plurality of areas ofmaximum width;

means on said flange portion for indicating said areas of maximum width;and

said upwardly extending portion is embossed with a plurality of gussetslengthwise along said strip, said embossed gussets extending from theiiiner edge of said horizontal portion.

10. A carpet fastening device adapted to secure a carpet edge to asupporting surface, including: a strip adapted to be secured to thesupporting surface across which the carpet is adapted to be stretched;fastening means on said strip, said fastening means comprising a flangeextending vertically from said strip adjacent an inner edge thereof anda deformable securing strip formed integrally with said flange, saidsecuring strip having a width greater than the height of said flange,said carpet being adapted to be stretched across and reversibly foldedunder said securing strip when said securing strip is directed angularlydownward to compress said carpet against said supporting surface whereinthe improvement comprises: said strip including a scalloped outer edgeproviding said strip with a plurality of areas of maximum width; meanson said securing strip for indicating the location of said areas ofmaximum width; and said flange including a plurality of embossed gussetslengthwise along said flange, said gussets extending upward from theinner edge of said strip.

1. A device for securing and concealing the edge of a carpet on asupporting surface, comprising a metal strip having: a horizontal baseadapted to be mounted on its bottom side on a supporting surface andadapted to support on its top side a tackless carpet strip; asubstantially vertical section extending upwardly from the inner edge ofsaid base to a height substantially coplanar to the top surface of thetackless carpet strip, said vertical section being embossed on its innerside facing said base with a plurality of vertical ridges along thelength of said strip which extend upwardly for a portion of saidvertical sections height from the inner edge of said base to preventbending of the lower angle defined by the juncture of said base and saidvertical section; and a substantially horizontal flange extendingoutwardly from the upper edge of said vertical section on the outer sideof said vertical section, said flange having a smooth upper surface andbeing adapted to receive the edge of a carpet which is reversibly foldedover, around and under said flange, said flange being bendable downwardalong its width, from the upper angle defined by the juncture of saidvertical section and said flange and its outer edge, toward saidsupporting surface to conceal and secure the edge of said carpet to saidsupporting surface by hammering the outer edge of said flange at anangle between 0* and about 60* from the vertical.
 2. The device forsecuring and concealing the edge of a carpet as defined in claim 1wherein the outer edge of said base is nonlinear and said base has aplurality of alternating maximum widths and minimum widths lengthwisealong said strip; and said flange includes means for indicating thelocation of each of said maximum widths on said base.
 3. The device forsecuring and concealing the edge of a carpet as defined in claim 1wherein said base has a plurality of alternating , maximum widths andminimum widths lengthwise along said strip, each of said maximum widthsbeing greater than the width of said flange and each of said minimumwidths being less than the width of said flange.
 4. The device forsecuring and concealing the edge of a carpet as defined in claim 1wherein the upper surface of said flange is convexly curved.
 5. Thedevice for securing the edge of a carpet as defined in claim 1 whereinthe outer edge of said base is scalloped and said base has a pluralityof maximum widths and minimum widths; and said flange includes means forindicating the location of each of said maximum widths on said base. 6.A device for securing the edge of a carpet on a supporting surface,comprising: a metal strip having a horizontal base portion adapted to bemounted on its bottom side on a supporting surface and adapted tosupport on its top side a tackless carpet strip, the outer edge of saidbase portion being scalloped to provide the base portion with aplurality of areas of maximum width and minimum width; a substantiallyvertical portion extending upwardly from the inner edge of said baseportion, said vertical portion being embossed with a plurality ofvertical gussets lengthwise along said strip, each of said gussetsextending from the inner edge of said base portion; a substantiallyhorizontal flange portion extending outwardly from the upper edge ofsaid vertical portion, said flange portion being adapted to receive theedge of the carpet which is reversibly folded over, around, and undersaid flange portion, said flange portion being bendable downward towardsaid supporting surface to conceal and retain the edge of said carpet;and means on said flange portion, opposite the areas of maximum width,for indicating said areas of maximum width.
 7. An article ofmanufacture, a one-piece carpet fastening device for securing a carpetedge to a supporting surface, including: a base strip adapted to besecured to the supporting surface; an upwardly extending flange alongone edge of said strip, vertical gussets being provided in said flangespaced along the length thereof, the bases of said gussets being in saidbase strip; and a clamping strip extending along the upper edge of saidflange and extending away from said base strip, said clamping stripbeing deformable downwardly after a carpet edge has been extended overthe free edge of the clamping strip and tucked thereunder.
 8. An articleof manufacture, a one-piece carpet fastening device for securing acarpet edge to a supporting surface, including: a base strip adapted tobe secured to the supporting surface, the free edge of the strip beinguniformly scalloped along its length; an upwardly extending flange alongthe other edge of said strip, vertical gussets being provided in saidflange spaced along the length thereof, the bases of said gussets beingin said base strip; and a clamping strip extending along the upper edgeof said flange and extending away from said base strip, said clampingstrip being deformable downwardly after a carpet edge has been extendedover the free edge of the clamping strip and tucked thereunder, theclamping strip being provided with indicator marks spaced along itslength to indicate the location of each of the scallops.
 9. A carpetfastening device, comprising: a metal strip having a horizontal portionadapted to rest upon a supporting surface to which a carpet is to beapplied, an upwardly extending portion and a readily bendable flangeportion projecting laterally from upwardly extending portion and acrossand under which the edge portion of a carpet stretched across said stripis adapted to be reversibly folded, said flange being deformabledownwardly toward said supporting surface to conceal and retain saidedge portion in a folded condition against said surface; a carpetretaining strip mounted on said horizontal portion and having retainingmeans engageable with said carpet for retaining the same in stretchablecondition; fastening means for fastening said strip against saidsurface, wherein the improvement comprising the outer edge of saidhorizontal portion is scalloped providing said horizontal portion with aplurality of areas of maximum width; means on said flange portion forindicating said areas of maximum width; and said upwardly extendingportion is embossed with a plurality of gussets lengthwise along saidstrip, said embossed gussets extending from the inner edge of saidhorizontal portion.
 10. A carpet fastening device adapted to secure acarpet edge to a supporting surface, including: a strip adapted to besecured to the supporting surface across which the carpet is adapted tobe stretched; fastening mEans on said strip, said fastening meanscomprising a flange extending vertically from said strip adjacent aninner edge thereof and a deformable securing strip formed integrallywith said flange, said securing strip having a width greater than theheight of said flange, said carpet being adapted to be stretched acrossand reversibly folded under said securing strip when said securing stripis directed angularly downward to compress said carpet against saidsupporting surface wherein the improvement comprises: said stripincluding a scalloped outer edge providing said strip with a pluralityof areas of maximum width; means on said securing strip for indicatingthe location of said areas of maximum width; and said flange including aplurality of embossed gussets lengthwise along said flange, said gussetsextending upward from the inner edge of said strip.